The Times of the Prophets

President Gordon B. Hinckley is not the only prophet who has presided over interesting times in the world. All the latter-day prophets have seen the world go through many changes in their lifetimes. We sometimes think of Church history separate from world history or from the other events during those times. This time line of the prophets’ lives not only contains fun and interesting facts, it will help you learn more about the latter-day prophets and the times they lived in. Who was the prophet when the Titanic sank? What was the most popular music when George Albert Smith was prophet? And who was the LDS farm boy who thought up the idea of television? Keep reading to find out.

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910– )

1961 Is ordained an Apostle. He served as a counselor to three Church Presidents.

1995 Is sustained as President of the Church. Under his leadership, more than 70 temples have been built. He is known for his tremendous optimism, faith, and sense of humor

News

1997 England turns Hong Kong over to China

2001 Terrorists crash planes into the World Trade Towers in New York City

Inventions

1995 DVDs are invented

Sports

1998 The home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa results in both men breaking Roger Maris’s 1961 record

Entertainment

Late1990s MP3 and other digital music formats become popular with help from the Internet

Food and Fashion

Now you’ve seen today’s fashions, and you only wear the good stuff. And one day your children will look at your yearbooks and laugh too

Photographs used by permission of Hulton Archive/Getty Images, Utah State Historical Society, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Brigham Young University, and the Church News, all rights reserved, may not be copied; illustrations and photography by Larry Winborg, Jed Clark, Craig Dimond, Scott Greer, Glen Hopkinson, John Luke, Paul Mann, Del Parson, John Telford, Mark Philbrick/BYU, and Val Chadwick Bagley; model of the Model-T Ford courtesy of www.mrshobby.com; model of the Titanic courtesy of Great Salt Lake Whaling Company